Masters, Apprentices, Fathers and Sons
by TundrainAfrica
Summary: Gilan accepts Morgarath's challenge in the Plains of Uthal and Halt is left to care for his apprentice in the aftermath of the battle. Halt wonders why it took him this long to realize that there was no fine line between an apprentice and a son.


**My favorite RA character is Gilan. Sadly, he's not as appreciated as Will, Halt and Horace in canon and I do find it a bit disappointing that Halt and Gilan's relationship is not explored much too. I made this fic a long time ago for the sake of doing just that. My immature writing skills are probably still visible since all I did was some simple revision.**

 **Some of you might have noticed too that I posted this for a while then deleted it. I realized there were some holes after I reread Burning Bridge. I quickly took it down and fixed it as soon as I had time.**

" _I do so make my challenge to prove my cause right and just to… Halt the Ranger"_

Will's heart thudded as he watched the scene unfold before him. Morgarath, the knight he had been dreading to see was finally in front of him and he was challenging his master to a duel to the death. What more, though he was smiling, Will could make out the animal-like fury in his eyes and in the occasional twitch of his lip. He was furious and Will understood why.

It was almost a few days ago that he, Horace and Evanlyn had almost gotten themselves caught trying to burn the bridge that was to help mobilize the troops of Morgarath that were coming from the south. The knight at that time was planning an ambush on the king's soldiers.

Will and Evanlyn crossed the bridge and started a fire on the other side of the fissure while Horace started the fire on his side at the same time, keeping the flames at bay so it wouldn't consume and destroy too much of the support and foundation of the bridge _yet._ As soon as Will and Evanlyn had arrived back on the other side, Horace stopped carefully pouring water on the growing flames and let the orange tongues do what they do best -consume the ropes of the bridge and then eventually, the bridge. At first, Will intended to stay at the bridge to keep the fire from being put out but as he observed the state of the already weakened bridge, he knew it wouldn't be needed anymore. The bridge was beyond help and even if they did save it, it wouldn't be able to take the weight of the marching Wargals anymore.

They arrived back at their camp to the tearful reunion of Evanlyn, now Cass, and her father, Will and Horace's report about the bridge Morgarath had created and how they were able to destroy it hopefully beyond repair and of course, how severely that course of action had slowed down the war plans of Morgarath.

There was no time to rest though after the war meeting since as soon as he reunited with his mentor, Morgarath appeared.

The young apprentice was tempted to challenge the knight to a duel when Morgarath challenged his master. In the end, he hesitantly put the Saxe knife that he instinctively pulled out back into its scabbard. It took all his self-control to do just that, telling himself again and again that Halt probably wouldn't like it if a ranger, an apprentice at that, who knew little about swordsmanship and close combat tried to take his place without proper invitation.

"I'll take my chance, my Lord." It was Halt who spoke first.

Then Duncan's urgent reply "Halt is not a knight, you cannot challenge him."

"Actually Duncan, I can challenge anyone and anyone can challenge me. As a knight I don't have to accept every challenge unless issued by another knight but I can choose to do so. As a ranger, Halt should have a right to accept this challenge though he's not bound to accept it by any code." Morgarath stared menacingly at the grim faced ranger who was now wheeling his horse forward.

The grim face of the ranger was all too familiar. That was the same calculating face that had created the battle plans and led the army that drove him out of Araluen years ago.

When the Skandians reported the burning of the bridge, they mentioned a bow and arrow and the few Wargals that were shot to death by a small figure. That was evidence enough to convince Morgarath that the perpetrator was a ranger and his money was on Halt.

He turned back at the ranger and as he studied his opponent, his hands trembled in anger. Looking at the mottled cloak and the quiver and bow strapped behind them was enough to make his blood boil. Killing Halt would not satisfy him enough. Death would be too easy. His eyes then focused on the younger ranger behind him, who he assumed was his apprentice. He imagined the many painful ways he could kill the young boy and the pleas of the ranger that would probably result from that.

Even if he did win the duel, he was almost sure that he would not win the war, with the bridge burned and his forces decimated, it would be a miracle if he were still able to make a comeback. If he was going to lose eventually, he might as well take some important people along with him, that was something that can hurt Araluen even more.

He also had to note that if he were to kill the young boy which Halt looked so protective of, he might destroy the grizzled ranger in the process too. _Two birds with one stone._

"Duncan, since you're very much reluctant to let me challenge one of your prized advisors, I am thinking…" Morgarath put his fingers to his chin as if in thought. "I can spare Halt from a one on one combat with me since I also have another opponent in mind…"

To that, Duncan sighed in relief, a sigh that was too subtle and too early.

"I challenge that whelp of an apprentice to a duel."

Halt's eyes widened in surprise. He looked around him for any other apprentices that Morgarath might be talking about. There were some battle school apprentices but Morgarath wasn't pointing at them, he was pointing at Will.

It was the grizzled ranger who was protecting Will this time.

"You'll have to go through me before you get to him… I've already accepted your challenge. Let's get on with it." Halt wheeled Abelard in front of Will protectively.

"Your king doesn't approve of my first challenge. Apparently you're too valuable to the kingdom."

Halt shook his head. "You're crazy to think anyone would even approve of your second challenge. You challenging an apprentice?"

Morgarath eyes narrowed, the anger evident in them."You too, were a young boy during the Battle at Hackham Heath were you not? At that age, you were leading the army and creating battle plans for the king." He added matter-of-factly, during that time, Morgarath was sure Halt was a bit older than the boy was but only by a few years. "Besides, have you no faith in your apprentice? Trained by the legendary Halt, he should be skilled enough to put an arrow through my chainmail." The last two sentences were said with a tone of mockery. He was provoking them.

Morgarath was a hundred percent sure it wouldn't work on Halt. The grim faced ranger remained silent, his cold and threatening eyes fixed on Morgarath as if to tell him that the provocation was useless and he was not going to sway.

Halt wasn't his target though, Morgarath's eyes were on the younger ranger. The latter was mimicking the cold stare of his master. He couldn't help but notice the small detail that the boy's hand was resting on his scabbard. He just needed a little more push.

"What do you think Will? A battle to the death? Or would you rather have your master put his life on the line?"

Will bit his lip in anger and before he even noticed it, he had pushed Halt's protecting hand down and brought out his Saxe knife. "Let's do this…"

"Wait…" It was Halt. "This is not your battle Will, don't get provoked by Morgarath."

"Sorry Halt, I can't! I can't let you put your life on the line." Will shook his head ready to wheel himself forward when he realized Tug wouldn't budge.

"Even your horse is smarter than you" Halt said shaking his head. "Will, Listen first. Do you even know anything about close combat? What are you planning on doing anyway? Stay on the sides and just shoot arrows at him? He's a trained fighter. He can't be underestimated."

Will avoided the eyes of his mentor and along with that, ignored his voice of reason because what Halt said was exactly what he was planning on doing. "Just let me do this…"

"You shouldn't stop him Halt. I didn't ask you for the challenge. I asked him. Let him make his choice." Morgarath said, intervening in the conversation between the master and his apprentice.

Halt had lost his patience. His eyes were already glaring daggers at Will. "Let me tell you this Will. What you are about to do isn't heroic at all. It's very selfish. You would rather put your life at risk than watch other people do it. Sometimes you have to put your feelings aside for others or what's better for them. Look around you."

Will looked around him to see Horace and Cass who both wore worried faces. Their eyes were telling him no and he could tell from their faces that they were tempted to actually go up to him and knock some sense into him if they weren't restricted by the royal code to do just that. He focused his eyes on his challenger. He didn't want to get swayed anymore from the decision he had already made for himself.

He urged the already reluctant Tug forward, his Saxe knife in hand. He felt a hand on his shoulder but he kept his eyes focused on his opponent. He knew that if he looked back, what he'd see would definitely change his mind. He heard a deep breath and he knew what those kinds of deep breaths were. It wasn't the tired kind people do after a long run nor was it the nervous one people did before a big speech. It was the kind people get when they're holding back tears.

"Let's go." He stared at Morgarath who was smiling smugly at the young ranger. He knew what the man wanted—revenge. He didn't plan on giving it to Morgarath though. He planned on winning. He was ready with his recurve bow and Saxe knife, Morgarath with his sword.

"Wait!"

Will at first, thought it to be the voice of Halt but after some quick reasoning, realized the voice was a bit higher and much brighter. He looked up to see the familiar mottled cloak of his fellow ranger and former apprentice of Halt, Gilan. His sword was held in front of him, the end of the sword, pointed at Morgarath's chest. "I challenge you, a sword fighter versus another sword fighter. This is the fairest way Morgarath. You'll have to go through me before you even touch my mentor or Will."

Morgarath laughed in reply "Another apprentice of Halt's? This is getting better and better." He turned to Halt "I'm surprised, for someone strong enough to lead a calvary, you have a lot of weaknesses."

All he got as a reaction though was Halt's grim face. The latter had pulled the cowl over his head, leaving only the flat line of his mouth visible to Morgarath, not wanting to give the knight the satisfaction of a reaction.

Morgarath realized that if he wanted to illicit a reaction from the grizzled ranger, he had to work for it and he had the perfect plan in mind. He was sure that if he were to kill both his apprentices, Halt was definitely going to crack.

He sighed then turned to the young ranger. "Alright, after you though, you wouldn't mind me going against Will right?"

Gilan smiled sardonically "I wouldn't let that happen. Not on my watch."

Morgarath gave Gilan a cat-like grin. "Alright. We'll see about that then. Let the battle begin."

 **MASTER-APPRENTICE-SON**

Will observed the two sides of the battle after almost thirty minutes of swords clashing. It looked too one sided. Gilan was sweating profusely, his swordplay a much slower than what Will had seen during his practice spars with Horace. Morgarath, on the other hand looked too fresh and confident for a half an hour battle.

He couldn't believe it. When the battle started, Gilan looked like he had the upper hand. He had natural speed and strength that was made better due to simultaneous ranger and knight training he got as an apprentice and the experience he had gained watching over Merric fief. Morgarath started off a bit slower than Gilan but still of considerable speed. He didn't get any faster. It was Gilan who slowed down half way through the fight. Will noticed that it came right after the ranger got hacked on the arm. From his view, it looked like nothing more than a flesh wound. Gilan's reaction told him otherwise. There was something else about that wound that started to bother him. He turned to his mentor who he could tell was slowly breaking from that grim face he was trying to keep up. There was something wrong with the fight.

"Halt-" Will started but before he could continue Halt had already turned to his other side- to the battlemaster Sir Rodney.

"Is there a rule against using poison in a knight's battle?" He asked, his calm facade, almost broken by panic.

The battlemaster shook his head in return. "It's frowned upon but it's not prohibited."

Halt did not reply but instead nervously pulled an arrow from his quiver and nocked it into the bow. _If Morgarath's going to play dirty, he might as well be a victim of it too._

The arrow never did leave the bow though. Halt just couldn't find the proper place to aim. Gilan may have slowed down dramatically but he still had to keep pace with his opponent. Both opponents were too close to each other and were moving too fast. If Halt made just one small mistake, he could hit his former apprentice and wound him, or worse kill him.

It was Morgarath in the offensive end who was attacking the ranger with rapid and varied cuts. Gilan, on the other hand, only had enough energy to deflect them. Some of them weren't properly defended leaving him with numerous cuts in his arms and chest and one in his leg.

Halt noted that the one in his leg wasn't from carelessness. It was in Gilan's attempt to protect Blaze who would have gotten the full force of the blade on his side if it was not for his owner's swift and instinctive movement.

The grizzled ranger watched the battle closely, the arrow still nocked on the bow. If he had the proper opportunity, he would fire immediately. He just had to wait then. He said a silent prayer for his former apprentice to hold on. _Tolerate the pain first Gilan… As soon as he slows down to the point that I can properly get an arrow through his heart, I'll shoot_ _him._

Halt knew the odds of that were close to none judging by how energetic Morgarath looked at that moment compared to Gilan. He had another idea though. He just had to get Gilan's attention.

Gilan couldn't take it anymore. Each breath was getting harder and harder to take in and he could feel the blood dripping from the multiple wounds around his body. He was burning up and his head was swimming. It was when he felt all of that that he realized that the sword wounds he sustained weren't typical flesh wounds. In a normal situation, he would've been able to continue the fight with no problem. He would've been able to parry all the strokes properly and get a few offensive ones that could definitely leave a mortal wound. But with all that was happening to him, even breathing became something he had to make an effort to do and with that, he also had to concentrate on defending himself. That left offense as a last priority. He, instead prayed for the perfect opportunity to thrust his opponent without opening himself up for another attack.

His prayers were eventually answered but not in a way that he expected. It was when he was finally pushed to the floor by Morgarath's blade did he hear the bird call. At first, he thought that he was only hallucinating. That wouldn't be a surprise, judging by how he felt at that moment. He started to think though.

 _Why would those birds suddenly appear in the clearing and make noise in the middle of all the ruckus that is happening?_ _Don't birds usually fly away from ruckus?_ There was only one answer for that. It wasn't a real bird. He turned to the side to see Halt, just that movement already took so much energy since most of what was left was used to delay the descent of Morgarath's sword towards his chest using his sword as leverage.

Halt made a sign at him. He nocked one of his arrows into the bow and made a gesture as if to shoot it. Gilan then understood what his mentor wanted. He was just waiting for his former apprentice to nod thus giving the go signal to do it. The ranger first looked at the man who was pushing him down. His opponent didn't look like he heard anything out of the ordinary nor did he see anything weird.

That was the price that came with adrenaline. He gets a quick burst of power, in exchange, he can only see the battle happening right in front of him. Everything else around him just fades into oblivion.

That was what the two rangers used to their advantage.

Gilan nodded at Halt and Halt shot an arrow right over Morgarath. The latter froze in surprise and that one second respite was all the younger of the two rangers needed to drive the sword into Morgarath's chest.

Morgarath stared down at the ranger he was about to kill, surprised. He didn't expect to feel a pain in his chest. That was when he realized he was the one who was stabbed and any minute was going to die.

No… he knew he didn't want to die yet. He wanted to make at least one mark, at least one scar in Halt's life before he dies. He forced the sword down on the ranger- Halt's former apprentice.

 _Halt's former apprentice._ Even just that phrase gave him enough bitter feelings to keep up the adrenaline for a split second longer. He hastened the descent of the sword. _A little bit more._ He told himself.

First, He saw a flash of pain appear in the ranger's eyes. He felt the sword slice through something soft and heard a scream…then another… then another.

He felt someone push him away and he fell back down, the sword in his chest driving deeper into his heart. He closed his eyes and listened to the panic-stricken voices of the people around him.

There were gasps. Then there were voices calling out to the young ranger then quick footsteps getting louder as they got closer.Morgarath smiled as he listened to them. There was one voice though that stood out.

"Will! Get the extra cloth and bandages from Abelard's saddle. He doesn't have much time!"

Finally, he was able to leave a mark in that cursed ranger's life. He was sure the blade had nicked a few organs. With those kinds of wounds, the young ranger should be dead in minutes and Halt would have to live his whole life with emotional baggage of a dead apprentice.

For some reason, just imagining how Halt cope with that kind of loss was enough to lighten the grudge inside him and his fear of dying. He breathed a sigh of satisfaction.

That was his last breath.

 **Tell me what you think!**

 **I'll probably be focusing on this first since I'm still in Battle of Skandia and this falls at around that same timeline. I've already written out five chapters and this will probably be around ten chapters long.**


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